October is Bully Prevention Month. At Seward we make an effort to teach bully prevention throughout the school year. Our working definition of bullying is:

Bullying is when one student or several students hurt another student’s feelings, body, or possessions on purpose, more than once, and it is difficult for the person being bullied to defend him or herself.

Second Step is a curriculum approved by the Minnesota Department of Education and the Minneapolis school district that our classroom teachers use as part of our efforts to prevent bullying at Seward. In addition, our middle school counselor, Kaisa; school social worker, Dena; and health teacher, Jody, have a significant role in teaching students specific social skills and strategies for problem solving and what to do if a student is bullied and/or students witness bullying.

Since school started in August we have been informing all Seward students about how to report bullying anonymously. In addition, students are receiving lessons on being a bystander versus being an “upstander,” books on feelings and bully prevention are being read in the classroom, and presentations on cyber-bullying are being given to our middle school students.

We need and count on you to model empathy, kindness, problem solving skills, and ways to manage conflict. When our learning community works together on a common goal we get results. Please commit to working with our teachers, students, and your fellow parents to eliminate bullying at Seward.

Don’t forget that Give to the Max Day is Thursday, November 12th. I hope you will take the opportunity to make a donation to Seward. Funds are used to provide camping, field trips, and other learning opportunities for Seward kids! Thanks in advance for your contribution.